Technical Field
The present disclosure pertains to a system and method for capturing and updating customer information in order to establish and maintain customer accounts.
Description of the Related Art
Servicing a small number of consumers in low-volume high-margin markets allows—and in many cases requires—a business to provide customers with personal attention to ensure continued customer satisfaction and development. In contrast, the mass market environment generally operates on a high-volume, low-margin model where large numbers of people enter the premises, such as malls, airports, sports arenas, theaters, casinos, and other similar venues, and personal customer contact is, at best, remote and removed.
The modern approach in a customer-centric business utilizes the customer relationship management model in which a comprehensive profile of consumer needs, expectations, and behaviors is used to establish positive customer relationships. Retention of customers relies on accurate customer data, which is used to analyze behavior and design marketing strategies that will sustain and maximize customer loyalty.
This process begins with the collection of data and information from which a 360-degree view of the customer is developed. Because consumer loyalty is dependent on understanding past behavior as well as current needs and wants, designing a program that rewards loyalty must not only take into account this information but also adapt the administration of the loyalty program to changing trends in business technology.
In the casino environment, cashless gaming is a developing trend. One implementation involves the use of patron account cards (commonly referred to as player loyalty or club cards) that are designed to accept and disperse credit for play, to accept and carry data regarding game play by the player, and to enable download of this information to single or multiple sites for management of player accounts and analysis of patron behavior. Bonuses and promotional activities can be included as a package with the patron account card to further encourage and reward loyalty. Thus, a patron account card contains a range of personal data, including debit and credit data, game play data, as well as personal identification information. While these patron account cards are not required, they do enhance the player's experience and help develop customer loyalty in the form of return visits to the issuer of the patron account card.
Various methods have been proposed for allocating loyalty reward points in the casino industry. For example, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2006/0217185, describes a method and system for allocating loyalty reward points to gaming players using gaming tables in which radio frequency identification circuits embedded in the chips track the betting and play characteristics of the players. A loyalty card associated with the chips is used to store information about chip use, which is later read when the loyalty card is swiped through a reader.
Hence, in the cashless gaming system, the use of electronically-readable loyalty cards, club cards, patron account cards, and the like is important to success of the system. Notably, cashless transactions are being adopted throughout commerce, and the key to consumer acceptance is the convenience of electronic data capture, both in hardwired and Wi-Fi modalities, such as found in banks, stores, entertainment centers, and service industries. While it is desirable to encourage and facilitate the use of patron account cards in casinos, there are several drawbacks to current patron account card distribution schemes.
Typically, a player must follow signs pointing to a “player's club” or a player must ask a casino employee where to apply for a patron account or player club card. Once the player is provided with an application, they must fill out the application to include their name, date of birth, mailing address, and other personal data, including submission of an approved identification form. A casino employee will enter the information into the casino's computer system and issue a card to the patron at that time. If a player loses their patron account card or forgets to bring it, they will have to repeat the process to obtain a duplicate account card. Redemption of bonus points requires a similar process in which the patron must show their patron account to a casino employee. Because each casino issues their own player account cards, players must go through this process at each casino they visit.
Thus, in order to issue a patron account card, the issuer must create a unique account, one that in most cases is linked to the identity of the patron. This in turn requires a patron to provide personal information, generally to another person. The card issuer must hire and train administrative staff, and it means the patron must defer playing and/or purchasing in order to spend time to meet with the staff, sometimes waiting in long lines to do so. Security concerns are another issue, i.e., protecting current customer accounts from unauthorized use. Customer reluctance to divulge personal information and the reluctance of businesses to utilize and maintain sufficient staff are obstacles to be addressed and overcome.